Anthropological studies of the Fannerup skeleton from the Early Stone Age

Abstract

Anthropological studies of the Fannerup skeleton from the Early Stone Age

There can be little doubt that the almost complete and well-preserved skeleton from Fannerup was that of a man.

The changes of the pubic symphysis and the pattern of synostosis of the cranial sutures indicate the age of death to be 40 years +/- 5 years. This has also been confirmed by the study of the teeth in relation to the known pattern of heavy dental wear in the Mesolithic Age. An age of 35-40 was the average an adult Mesolithic man could expect to reach.

The bones of the skeleton did not provide any information as to the cause of death.

According to the physical appearance of this man, both the skull and the postcranial bones were marked with robusticity and traces of well-developed muscles.

The skull was of medium size (1500 ml.) and almost brachycephalic, with an index of 78.3, whereas the average Mesolithic skull was mesocephalic (76.1). The range of individual variation was large and the complexity of the Mesolithic population seems to increase as more material from the period appears.

The postcranial skeleton showed that the man from Fannerup was not tall (155-160 cm) but had a heavily-built body. This body-shape was not uncommon in earlier times and a decrease in robusticity from the palaeolithic age to recent time is well-known from many skeletal studies. Genetic, adaptational and environmental factors are involved but the role and influence of each single factor is not known.

Pia Bennike og Verner Alexandersen

Antropologisk Laboratorium, København